14g biocube new to this

[nguyenma]

ok thanks. so i was planning on removing the false chamber 1 and putting the heater in there and the filter back in. i am gonna remove the bio balls and raise the water level so i can put in the protein skimmer in chamber 2. but the only problem is that if i raise the water level, it will go over the max level in chamber 3. is that a bad thing?? or will it work??

 

[mr86mister]

It won't be a problem. The only reason that max level is there is to make sure to keep chamber two half dry to drip the water down into it. When I had mine as a saltwater tank it did not affect anything.

 

[nguyenma]

so i still couldnt remove the false bottom of chamber 1 so i left it. i left the skimmer in there. i took out the bio balls and raised the water level pretty high. so that there would be no water fall noise. i throw the heater in there and left it. my water got a lot cloudier and my clowns are still hanging around the top and in the back as usually. there are also these long hair things on everything my rock and even my hammer. i will posting picture soon because i just got a new camera!! so maybe sometime today or tomorrow.

 

[mr86mister]

Yeah, post pics. Then we can help you.

 

[nguyenma]

Minh-An Andy Nguyen's Photos - fish | Facebook

here is what i ahve so far.

 

[mr86mister]

How long do you leave your lights on? It does not look terrible. I would recommend a few more turbo snails and snails in general to help control the algae. Do you have bottom cleaners? Any types of shrimp to help keep excess food down will help. Emerald crabs also do well.

 

[nguyenma]

i leave the light on for about 6 to 8 hours. thats what a couple of people have been telling me to do. i have 4 or 5 small hermits and no shrimp. i dont really want a shrimp so ill go out and get a couple of emerald crabs and a few more snails.

 

[bawel]

Get a MAG cleaner for the glass/acrylic, so that you can see your fishes clearly tooo.... just get 1 emerald crab, don't need a couple... and get a cleaner shrimp, it's good for the tank...and nassarius snails... to shift your sandbed.

 

[nguyenma]

i dont really want a shrimp... anything else i could get?

 

[mr86mister]

If you don't want a shrimp, make sure you get a few assorted types of snails. Maybe 5 snails for your tank. Turbo and Nassarius(sp?) snails work great.

 

[nguyenma]

i got 4 turbos and 1 other that i dont know. ill prob go pick up another 5 snails today and maybe a star fish. any other kind of livestock you guyz recommend for sand shifting??

 

[bawel]

nooooono no.... no more than 4 turbos, because it grows very fast... you might want to get about 2-3 Nassarius snails, you only have 14gallon, you don't need that much turbos. Might as well get Astrea or Cerith snails....

 

[nguyenma]

ok haha good thing you told me otherwise i was about to go get them ahaha. what kind of sand shifters are good. wanna name a few?? snail starfish or what ever haha

 

[bawel]

no no... depending of what you're aiming at... if you want reef, you don't get starfish first until your tank is established... at least 6months to a year... the good sandshifters for me is Nassarius snails, you don't see them much because they'll be under the sands... so for your tank size I would definitely recommend 3-5 Nassarius, but 3 is best so that they won't be too hungry and the other snails are Astrea and/or Cerith probably like 3-4 so that they won't be too hungry cause they clean up the algae real good too and as I said earlier, get the mag cleaner to clean your glass, I know you think the snails can clean it, but it will be like splotchy, dots everywhere so you use mag cleaner the magnet to make it real clean... just get the small size one.

 

[nguyenma]

ok ok thank you!! so ill go pick those snails up today. one thing tho will it affect my rock cuz they are pretty much on top of the sand.

 

[mr86mister]

What do you mean affect your rock? If you can try to bury your rock until it hits the bottom of the glass. It should be fine, the snails just stir up the sand to keep the oxygen in it and to help other creatures grow in it.

 

[bawel]

Nope, just make sure that your rock reach the bottom of your aquarium and not on top of the sand, if the rock in the bottom, no worries about affecting it, my nassarius never do anything to my rock.

 

[nguyenma]

ok i was worried that the snail might move too much same and cuz my rock to fall over... haha but ill bury thr rock a little deeper. thanks a lot!!

 

[nguyenma]

so when i got home i looked at my clowns and they look a lot and i mean a lot darker then they did. when i got them they were bright orange now they look dark orange...

 

[mr86mister]

They will change color as they get older. Some even get black. But the orange varies from month to month.